THE BEAUTY OF SURRENDER

Author: Eden Bradley ISBN: 9780553385588 11/2009 EROTIC Publisher: DELTA

Shibari, the ancient art of erotic restraint…Its finely knotted ropes are a turn-on, a sexual experience…and, for some, an absolute necessity. Serving the Master: Desmond and Ava At a San Francisco sex club called Pinnacle, Ava Gregory seeks something she cannot quite describe. But of one thing she is certain: the moments when she feels her most beautiful and complete are when she is tightly restrained in the Shibari ropes. At Pinnacle, she’s paired with a master: Desmond Hale, who thrives on control. But something surprising happens when Desmond binds Ava’s willing body and takes her to the edge of ecstasy. And now the two are taking their relationship out of the shadows of the club, sharing secrets unleashed and bodies unbound.… Soothing the Beast: Marina and James An art dealer and Shibari master, Marina has never hesitated to dominate anyone. Until she meets James, a dark, gorgeous, towering journalist who’s survived horrors around the world. James confesses that submission is the only way to clear his troubled mind, but Marina is instantly overwhelmed by his strength and magnetism. To share the pleasures of bondage, something must change between them. When it does, it will come with an explosion of unexpected pleasure—and a relationship that neither could ever have imagined.…

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Eden Bradley sets her erotic romance THE BEAUTY OF SURRENDER at a BDSM club in present day San Francisco. It is comprised of two interconnected stories—the first is “Serving the Master: Desmond and Ava” and the second is “Soothing the Beast: Marina and James.” Desmond and Marina are both nawashi, ropes masters, in a bondage practice called Shibari. Ava has tried to get over her mother’s dominance and her ex’s abuse of her by going deeply into a blank spot while being bound. She hasn’t quite made the breakthrough she needs, so Marina recommends she work on these issues with Desmond.

Marina and Desmond are both dominants, while Ava is a severe submissive. It seems that Marina and Desmond each have their reasons for being such control freaks, and it has a lot to do with their need to keep themselves from becoming involved with another person, mostly because of their losses and self-perceived failures. Though James is not a submissive, he desires to work through the pain and rage from being a journalist in war-torn countries. Ava and James are the ones seeking help, but they could just be the balm that Desmond and Marina each need in their own lives.

Bradley really knows how to get characters all twisted up and then unwinds them with one of the healthiest releases—steamy sex as a prelude to love. Each of these characters is fighting the feelings of attraction that they have in order to spare themselves and the other person the pain of having to deal with their freakishness and foibles. And to one degree or another, I think that’s where most people are if they’ll just admit it. We all think we are fatally flawed and nobody could possibly love us and stay normal. Bradley has a real gift for building characters, and her San Francisco descriptions and the action only serve to bolster the characters’ development. Desmond has been fighting his internal demons nearly all his life and is sure he can’t really trust himself to be responsible for another person. Ava is a people pleaser and needs to realize that she’s worth pleasing. Marina hasn’t let go of her grieving process, choosing instead to wall herself off from men to avoid another chance to lose. James is the character to which I was most sympathetic. He is dealing with both post traumatic stress from seeing so much strife, and also survivor’s guilt after having a militant group in Burundi execute all of the other people in his group in a roadside incident. Bradley’s narrative is so strong that I felt like I was right there with each of the four in their times of need.

She is also a master at writing taut, hot, naughty sex. I definitely need a shower after all of the contortions she puts these two pairs through! And maybe a massage. And, oh, heck—just send Desmond and his ropes over to get the kinks out. Sigh. She had me with his Scottish accent and all-black clothes.

THE BEAUTY OF SURRENDER is part Tao manual, part group therapy session, and all in sex play. Readers who don’t mind getting their glasses a little fogged up will really enjoy Bradley’s tasteful tales of strength through surrender.

Susan Barton